Medical imaging apparatuses are used to obtain images of internal structures of objects. Medical imaging apparatuses that are non-invasive testing apparatuses capture and process images of structural details, internal tissues, and the flow of fluids in human bodies and provide the images to users. The users who are, for example, medical doctors, may diagnose health states and diseases of patients by using medical images output from the medical imaging apparatuses.
Examples of an apparatus for imaging an object by projecting X-rays toward a patient include a computed tomography (CT) apparatus.
A CT apparatus that is a medical imaging apparatus or a tomography apparatus may provide a cross-sectional image of an object and may clearly show internal structures (e.g., organs such as kidney and lung) of the object without overlapping them, unlike a general X-ray apparatus, and thus is widely used to accurately diagnose a disease. A medical image obtained by a tomography apparatus is referred to as a ‘tomography image’. An image captured by a CT apparatus may be referred to as a CT image.
However, when a tomography apparatus captures an object that moves, a state of the object changes as time passes, and thus it is difficult to obtain a tomography image at a desired time and in a desired phase. For example, when a tomography scan is performed on the heart, in order to reconstruct a tomography image in a target phase, an electrocardiogram (ECG) of a patient is continuously monitored and imaging is performed at a time corresponding to the target phase. Since complicated processes for monitoring an ECG and setting an accurate imaging time have to be performed, complexity in system control is increased.